Sea Wolf howls at the Chicago moon

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Gypsy folk turns to gypsy rock on stage.

By Chad Grischow

Matching opening bands with headliners seems like such an easy task, but too often bands or managers make odd decisions that create strangely diverse lineups, much to the chagrin of concertgoers. What started well in Chicago ran into two sonic speed bumps on the way to Alex Church's new band, but they appear to have made the rocky wait worthwhile. Sea Wolf will be opening for Nada Surf for their upcoming tour, and if Chad Grischow's report is any indication, you should definitely get there early.

Saturday night's four-band lineup seemed more than a little confusing right from the start. Sure, Portland-based quintet The Shaky Hands had a well-earned forty-five minute set, part stomping surfer rock and part lo-fi garage pop, but the clanging, explosive band hardly seemed a good fit for Alex Church's tranquil brand of acoustic folk. In the end, Sea Wolf rocked harder than expected and The Shaky Hands' sun-drenched glee was too damn good to care about how odd a fit they seemed, proving to be one of the best third openers you are likely to see, at the very least.

Sadly, Retribution Gospel Choir derailed the combustible momentum quickly. The side project of Low members Alan Sparhawk and Matt Livingston played out like all too many side projects do, full of inane solos and songs that would not cut it as b-sides in their main band. As mind-numbingly bland as they were, they at least did not use flashing glimpses of female masturbation and topless women writhing around on beds to keep patrons from wandering off. Too bad the main opener did. If ever a band needed a gimmick to keep concertgoers interested, A Place To Bury Strangers is it. From the start, the fog-filled stage and bleak lighting, it looked as though the Brooklyn trio was attempting to pull off a Spinal Tap gag. Sadly, the mini Stonehenge never appeared and the clumsy mix of neo-Blue Man Group thump and distortion over mellow mumbled vocals slamming underneath a dual-looping shock-video proved a far less rewarding a/v experience than the outer bar's blend of the new Radiohead album and the ALCS game on TV.

Three hours and two terrible openers after the night began, Sea Wolf made the wait worthwhile. Following on the heels of the noise-rock trio before them, the chime-filled, lilting "Leaves In The River" could not have been more different. Though a welcome sonic shift, it underscored just how strange the pairing of openers and headliner was. Things began to make a little more sense when the haunting cello introduction gave way to a hard stomping rendition of "Winter Windows". By the swelled-up musical eruption of the passionate hook on "I Made A Resolution", it was clear that Sea Wolf could hang with the rockers. Though they would never match the raw aggression of the openers, there is something to be said for taking a well-crafted song and playing the hell out of it; which is just what Church and crew did repeatedly.

The eerie cool of songs like "Song For The Dead" turned into toe tapping acoustic rockers. The band only slowed a bit for a couple of ballads, although Church disarmingly warned the crowd, "We're going to play a few quiet songs, so shut the f*ck up", with a chuckle. The country-fried fingerpicking on "The Garden That You Planted" proved a solid live-show upgrade for the mellow tune. It proved to be the quiet before the storm, as the band crept into a killer version of "You're A Wolf" that rocked harder than anything from any of the earlier bands did. Stark crime tale, "Black Dirt" stole the show as the set's closer, full of fanged guitar and Church's vengeful, swaggering vocals.

The band's short songbook (only an EP and fantastic debut LP to their name) left encore duties to the unfortunately mellow "The Rose Captain". The gorgeous cello and acoustic guitar tune proved a letdown with nothing to follow it. Still, the way they closed the regular set was plenty explosive enough, proving that Sea Wolf is not out of place amidst rock bands.

Set List "Leaves In The River" "Winter Windows" "The Cold, The Dark & The Silence" "Middle Distance Runner" "I Made A Resolution" "Sea Monuments" "Song For The Dead" "Black Leaf Falls" "The Garden That You Planted" "You're A Wolf" "Black Dirt"